Diamond D Still Had It In '99 - Internal Affairs Contributions

Pharoahe Monch - The Light, The Truth feat. Common & Talib Kweli & The Ass feat. Apani B
taken from Internal Affairs (Rawkus, 1999)

George Benson - Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
taken from Bad Benson (CTI, 1974)

Harvey Mandel - Cristo Redentor
taken from Cristo Redentor Plus Selected Sessions Reissue (Raven, 2003)

If you were to ask me to list in quick succession my top producers of all time, I know that Diamond D is a name that would always spring to the forefront of my mind. However, when I stop and try to qualify this position, I find myself struggling a little bit, because in terms of output and truly consistent quality he does fall short of some of the other most prominent beat-makers in the game (see Pete Rock, Premier etc.). Now don't get me wrong, I've got a lot of love for D Squared, not least in the wake of the recent release of the Ultimate Force LP, but there isn't quite as much fodder to argue his case as perhaps my gut instinct feels that there should be in the 'greatest of all time' stakes. Admittedly, I think my feelings here are tainted by his unfortunate demise towards the end of the '90s, and there is little doubt that he has struggled to stay involved in the game in the same way that other long-term contributors to the genre have done. Perhaps an apt point of comparison would be his DITC companion Buckwild who has maintained a presence in contemporary hip hop in a way that Diamond D has not. It also doesn't help that some of the beats on his MySpace page are questionable to say the least.

Having said this, his production work on Pharoahe's seminal debut solo LP proves that in the 1-9-9-9, he could still pull off a beat with serious style. Now for the sake of this argument, I'm actually going to ignore 'The Ass' because it is way short of the mark in comparison to his other two credits in the shape of 'The Light' and 'The Truth' (him and Pharoahe obviously had a mild obsession with the definite article here). I am fully aware of the possible negation of my argument, but I'm going to be daring and focus on the positives in this instance: deal with it.

'The Light' and 'The Truth' show Diamond's skills in two different and yet equally resounding ways. 'The Truth' is a beautifully soulful beat that feels introspective and relatively sophisticated, but in terms of production techniques it is less complicated a composition than 'The Light'. Although there is a slight manipulation of the sample from Harvey Mandel's 'Cristo Redentor', this really is a case of taking a loop and simply adding drums and bass (check the sequence from 1.18 onwards). Of course, this notion of apparent simplicity could be levelled at many a great hip hop track, and as a certified drums and loops man, I am in no way suggesting that this should be seen as something to quibble about: this is a sensational piece of production work that oozes quality. The combination of vocals, heart-wrenching strings and harp is truly beautiful, and it ranks amongst one of Diamond's best works. Interestingly, he thinks so too, stating that this is his personal favourite within his own catalogue in the documentary film 'Deep Crates'. To say that this beat comes highly recommended would be somewhat of an understatement.

'The Light' is a slightly different kettle of fish, and sees Diamond go to work on chopping up George Benson's 'Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams' and delivering a beat that renders the sample unrecognisable. I assume that Diamond lifted his guitar track from Benson's solo near the beginning of the song (0.28 to 0.53) and modified the pitch to give him a spread of notes to play with, but with my limited understanding of production techniques it is difficult to tell. Of course, it is Diamond's chopped up guitar riff that forms the central focus of the beat, and it does so emphatically, drawing the listener in to one of the best joints on 'Internal Affairs'. The case for this cut is aided by the fact that this was an anthem for myself and friends in the summer of '99, and it takes me back to warm summer days that resonate strongly in my memory. Ah, the nostalgia...

Both of these cuts seemed to put forward a more mature and introspective Diamond D, a man who no longer relied on heavy horns and slammin' drums to make an impression (always welcome, mind) and it's a shame that he wasn't able to manage this shift more effectively going into his own solo releases post-millennium, with both 'The Diamond Mine' and 'Grown Man Sport' making very little impact on the scene. Wherever he may go in the future there remains little doubt for me that even as late as '99, Diamond D was still one of the best producers out there, and both 'The Light' and 'The Truth' are testament to this fact. A fading legend he may be, but I doubt there are very many serious heads out there who will forget his contributions to the culture in a hurry. Although he may no longer be the genre's 'best kept secret', these two joints certainly rank amongst his.